In her new book,
partly inspired by
Joseph Conrad’s
Heart of Darkness,
Dy Plambeck, sends
a young journalist
deep into the dark
heart of war – to
Danish soldiers in
Afghanistan.

PHOTO: ISAK HOFFMEYER

‘

The enemy is a human being. If I don’t know him intimately, I can’t decide whether or not
to kill him. The enemy think’s like I do. That thought never leaves me. I look at the enemy
without hatred. I do my utmost to seek him out in the frenzy of war and kill him. I expect
nothing other from him than he will also seek me out to kill me. If I’m stuck too long in
camp, fear of the enemy takes hold. The more time I spend out beyond those walls, close
to the enemy, the more I can accept his proximity. In camp my fear looms over me. How
long can I keep being that lucky? Is my number up?
Deep within me there’s a hole. That’s where my breakpoint hides. I’ve seen the fear in the
eyes of some of my comrades in our platoon. They’ve retreated to their hole. Now they can’t
get out of it. When fear kicks in during the firefight, I try to look right through it. Way over to
the far side of it. I can still fear specific things. But it’s more like – OK fine, I’m going to die,
but I must deal with this split-second situation first. The most vital thing becomes doing
what I came to do no matter what. Then I will always be the winner. Whether I live or die.
Extract from MIKAEL (MIKAEL)